Pennant repays Wenger faith

Jermaine Pennant has sounded his intention to make Sven-Goran Eriksson, let alone Arsene Wenger, sit up and take notice of his potential next season after finally making his Arsenal breakthrough.

Pennant, 20, who was the most expensive teenager in English football when he signed from Notts County four years ago, scored a hat-trick in his first Premiership start in the 6-1 rout of Southampton.

He declared the feat to be a repayment of the faith that Wenger showed in him after he was sent home in disgrace from the England Under-21 squad for breaking a curfew last month.

Pennant admitted having feared his Arsenal career was then over, almost before it had even begun, but he was instead given a final warning by Wenger that he has clearly heeded just in time.

“I did fear the worst, that was always in the back of my mind,” he admitted. “To find out that it didn’t mean the end, made me thankful and I tried to repay the boss against Southampton.

“I love my football and to throw it all away would have been stupid, a crime. It was a wake-up call and afterwards I worked hard to put things right. This was the final answer.”

Pennant is also hoping to win back the faith of Under-21 coach David Platt but such is his innate self-belief and ebullience that he is also looking to make Eriksson sit up and take notice of him.

The England coach is certainly aware of Pennant’s talent, especially given the way he burst into the Under-21 side ahead of many older players, along with Jermain Defoe.

Indeed, with the rise of Jermaine Jenas at Newcastle as well, there may be three Jermain(e)s in the England squad before too long.

Pennant declared: “David Platt said I’ve just got to play well to get back into the team.

“That’s one of the reasons why I’ve been playing so well in the reserves and now against Southampton.

" Hopefully I can get back into the squad and go to the European Championships.

“It’s all about next season for me now. Hopefully I’ll start playing and then Sven will maybe have a take into me as well! I would love to reach my potential and become a great player, who lots of people look up to.”

Being at Arsenal has, in one sense, proved a handicap, given that it has taken so long for Pennant, who would by now be a regular at many other clubs, to make his mark.

After all, he must overcome the challenge of Sylvain Wiltord, Fredrik Ljungberg and Ray Parlour to earn a spot on the right side of midfield.

“It has taken longer than I thought to break through but that’s because I’m at one of the biggest clubs in England,” he said.

“It is going to be 10 times harder than if I was somewhere else. You have got to stay strong and stay on the straight and narrow and then hopefully you will get your chance.

“I’ve had that now and hopefully I’ve shown the manager. I have always had faith in my ability and so has the boss or he wouldn’t have brought me to Arsenal.

“We have had talks – positive talks – and hopefully next season I will be part of the first team more often and getting more games.

“If I hadn’t have come through, then people would have been asking questions as to whether I was really good enough, but I think that I’ve answered a lot of those now.

“I was a bit down at the start of this season. It’s hard as you just want to play and I’d been here for three years, but I’ve just got to be happy now.

"Scoring a hat-trick. Wow! It’s just a dream come true.”

While Matthew Upson was forced to leave Arsenal in search of regular first-team football, Pennant is heartened by Wenger’s recent insistence that, especially with restrictions on transfer spending, he would place more faith on youth.

He is looking to learn from the internationals ahead of him, while following in the footsteps of his close friend, Ashley Cole, who is the one product of Arsenal’s academy to have won a regular first-team spot in recent seasons.

“I see Ashley as a great example. He got his chance, took it and went sky high to be a regular with the club and England,” he declared.

At least confidence is not a problem. After all, asa tattoo on Pennant’s arm says, ‘somewhere between faith and luck lies destiny’.